Fig. 4

Effect of LPS stimulation on TLR4 expression in chicken liver. After intraperitoneal LPS injection in chicks at different time points, TLR4 protein expression was assessed in liver tissue by immunohistochemistry using anti-TLR4 antibody, TLR4 positive product was mainly distributed on hepatocytes. In LPS group, strong TLR4 expression was present at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 72 h as compared to saline group (a). Quantification of TLR4 expression from liver tissue images was accomplished by image-pro plus (IPP) computer software where IOD represents integrated optical density (b). The analysis of TLR4 gene expression was performed by quantitative RT-PCR and normalized by the expression of actin beta (ACTB) (c). The letter C represents saline (control) group and L represents LPS group. The numbers represent the hours after stimulation. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01